What's New Restaurants: The Bar-B-Q, Sanlitun

Robynne Tindall, Contributing Editor | Apr 5, 2015 5:00 pm | Add a comment | 2844 reads

It seems like a strange side effect of globalization that it would take moving to Beijing for a humble Brit like myself to fall in love with American barbecue. For us, proper low ’n’ slow barbecue is the stuff of legend and Guy Fieri series and it was only at the original Home Plate at Xiaoyun Lu that I experienced brisket and pulled pork for the first time. I may not fully understand it, but I know that I want to eat it.

Fellow barbecue fans now have one more place to get their meat fix in the form of The Bar-B-Q, a new project in the former By the Tree space managed by the owners of The Bar upstairs. The chef is a Home Plate alumnus and their smoker was built with the help of a Texan friend. So far, so authentic. An All-Meat Combo platter (RMB 195) shows off what both the chef and smoker can do. The chopped brisket and pork ribs are good and smoky, although a touch on the dry side. Thankfully this can be remedied with one of their homemade barbecue sauces, such as the sweet and lightly spicy Memphis. Sides like fries and wings are average.

The owners’ experience at The Bar shows through in the brief cocktail list (well-priced during the daily happy hour, 5-9pm), including a delicious peach bourbon julep that made us come over all Southern belle. With solid food and drinks The Bar-B-Q is likely to quickly become a favorite Sanlitun haunt.

More stories by this author here.

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